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What's On Sale This Month
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For Our Newsletter Subscribers Only: 10% Off All Inlay Blanks. Enter "INLAY10" in The Coupon Code Box At Checkout
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We are still closing out the Dymondwood. Many colors are already gone and several others are in short supply.
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Our Secret Pill Compartment Keychain Kit
1-4 $3.30 each
5-9 $3.10 each
10-24 $3.00 each
25+ $2.85 each
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Indian River Buffalo Horn Blanks
1-4 $5.15 each
5-9 $4.80 each
10-24 $4.35 each
25+ $4.30 each
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Poly Burl Pen Blank Of The Month:
"Old Glory"
1-49 2.36 each
50+ $1.99 each
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Colored Pasta Acrylic Blank:
1-4 $7.19 each
5+ $6.99 each
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Hello Everyone,
Contrary to popular belief of most
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Dink says, "The onlyest thing I know is that my pool is finally open and I can go swimming again!"
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new turners, you do not get a $5.00 high end super duper elegant smooth writer model 2000 Execu-Glide Mega Smooth Writing refill with your $1.70 pen kit. You don't even get one with your $10.00 pen kit. This is something we usually hear about from Newer Turners ever since we went into business selling pen kits almost eleven years ago. We sold kits from Berea Hardwoods and later from Penn State Industries and had the same complaints then as we do now. Yes you do get a super nice refill when you go to a big box office supply store and pay $170.00 for a smacky pen, you should expect it. If you are selling your handmade goodies for mega bucks then you should be fair and put a super nice refill into it for your customer.
The refill supplied with any do it yourself kit type pen you buy will write nicely, but is not a top of the line mega bucks refill, no matter who you buy it from unless the description states otherwise. We've done investigation after investigation into getting a beefier refill. The wholesale cost is just so high that what we would have to sell it for would, in our opinion, just not be reasonable. You would have to pay quite a bit more for the kit to cover the cost of the higher end refill. In fact you would probably pay more than you would have paid for it at your local big box office supply store.
Tracey is a penaholic (is that a real word?) and she very rarely comes across a refill that she feels is an issue. If you are not satisfied with the refill that comes with your kit, it can be changed out with a higher end refill from a big box office supply store. They usually come one to two per pack and range in price from $3.00 to $8.00 per refill. Feel free to swap it out and throw the Standard one that came with your $1.70 pen kit into the rubbish bin. Keep in mind, you either need to absorb that cost yourself or raise the cost of your finished product to reflect the added cost. In most cases I'm not sure it will ever be noticed by the end customer.
The only warranty we make regarding the refill that came in the kit you purchased from us is that it will write on a piece paper. If you get any that simply do not work, please let us know and we'll make it right.
Most of us grew up using a 19 cent Bic, but there are always a few dandelions in a field of daises.
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TECH TALK
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When I turn my acrylic blanks, I can see the tube through the acrylic. Then paint the tube!!! Don't spend extra money buying pre-painted or powder coated white tubes. In our little town of Monett, Missouri (Podunk, USA) we have a Wal-Mart. In this Wal-Mart is a Craft Department in which the store sells little bottles of acrylic paint.
There are over 100 different colors. I take my acrylic blank to the store with me and compare it to the multitude of color choices. Something is bound to be just right or at least "close enough". These bottles of paint are very inexpensive and will last for years (provided you keep the cap shut). Using a small artist's paint brush, I paint the tube to match the color of the blank and then wash out the brush with plain water for future use again and again.
It takes about fifteen to twenty minutes for the acrylic paint to dry enough for use. If I am in a hurry, I zap it with a hair dryer and it is dry in just a few seconds. Be careful not to scratch the paint off as you apply the glue and insert the tube into your blank.
Now turn the blank and you will see that the tube has now become invisible from the outside of the blank. Be sure to rough up your blank with sand paper before you paint it.
Anytime you are turning a light colored blank and do not paint the tube, you will see the tube through the finished blank. This will always be the case with translucent and iridescent blanks which are made from polyester resin. If they are made to be a solid color then you lose the deep pearlescent reflective effect that some folks desire.
I have a really rough time removing chucks from the spindle of my lathe. If you use a nylon spindle washer then the attachment will come loose with just a twist of the wrist. These lock-free washers are used to keep your lathe attachments from binding up on your lathes threaded spindle power head. They can be used on everything from bowl chucks to pen mandrels to bottle stopper chucks. Why beat on your expensive tools trying to remove them when these washers will make tool removal as easy as a twist of the wrist.
They are very durable and will last for years. The pressed fiber washers will wear out but these will last and last. Hmmm, $1.99 for a nylon spindle washer....or beat on my $700.00 Eschelon chuck with a hammer & spanner wrench?
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WHAT'S NEW
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Red Velvet Poly Pearl pen blank. Blanks measure
3/4 X 3/4 X 5".
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We have been hard at work making some very nice Polyester Resin pen blanks we call Poly Pearls. It took a while and not to mention several rather expensive failed attempts to get the technique of pouring large quantities of resin at a time right but we have endured and figured it all out. For the best final results, it is highly recommended that you paint your tubes a color that is the same shade of the lightest color in the blank. For instance I would paint my tubes white for the blank pictured above. We will still be selling the resin and the dyes you need to create your own blanks. By the quart, our polyester resin prices are the best you will find anywhere. If you compare shipping costs you will find that our resin has the best price overall period. The casting resin we sell is Silmar41 casting resin with a UV inhibitor added to resist yellowing if you plan to do clear castings. The resin has a light blue tint to it in the liquid form but hardens crystal clear.
For those of you who don't like the mess, the horrible smell and the possibility of costly failed attempts; we have an ever growing selection of Poly Pearls. The Uncle Tim's blanks are also available. The big difference is that with the Uncle Tim's blanks, the colors are dense enough that there is no need to paint your tubes and most his blanks are already round.
If you have a special request color combination you would like for us to make, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate you. When we make a new color we will post it on our website and make it available to everyone. We will not offer exclusivity to color combinations, that's a quick way to put yourself out of business when you contractually limit the sale of an item to just one customer.
Many newer turners have a difficult time of turning polyester resin blanks due to their extremely brittle physical characteristics. The best bet for turning these beautiful blanks is to use a skew chisel. There are many good videos out on the web to show you how to use a skew chisel. For turning this type of material it is not necessary to master beads and coves so you will want to steer clear of videos with too much detail. For the purpose of turning these blanks, stick to the basics and just know how to cut a smooth flat surface. Once you master that then you can venture into beads, coves, and other fancy cuts. Get yourself some scraps of wood from your local brush dump and practice, practice, practice.
Since mastering the skew chisel, I use it exclusively for all of my pen and spindle turning. I use a 3/4" and 1" Robert Sorby oval skew. One thing to remember when learning to use a skew, The larger the skew, the easier it is to use since the sweet spot (cutting area) is larger. Those tiny skews that come in a pen making chisel set are pretty much worthless unless you are very very good at cutting with a skew and have a very steady hand.
Whichever c hisel you choose from your arsenal that works best for you needs to be razor sharp to turn polyester resin. Dull and unevenly sharpened chisels, no matter which, will quickly break polyester resin into a pile of shattered pieces.
I taught Tracey how to use a skew so she can whip out her prototypes when working on her Inlay designs and not have to wait for me. She is getting better at it all the time and now that is all she uses too!
Another New Inlay. Tracey was determined to do a Fairy. She tried one about a year ago as a silhouette but it ended up looking like a Pin Up Girl that you would see on a truck mud flap. She set it aside for a bit. As she continues to learn she can do things that are a bit more complex. She got her Fairy!
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COMING SOON
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We had a few rather large purchases of the gold slimline pen kits and have ran out. The next shipment should be here very soon. Remember, we are not a wholesale company and do not buy kits in substantial enough quantity to supply them to retail outlets for resale. If you are a retailer who resells the kits you need to contact PSI Woodworking or find a manufacturer to work with who will suit your individual needs. Alibaba.com is a good place to start.
We get so many requests for the three piece plastic "click" mechanism that goes in the Gel click pens that we have ordered some and they should be here in the next couple of weeks.
The Black Velveteen pouches are on their way and should be back on our site next week along with our Gold Slimline Pen Caps and Black Mini Refills. |
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Thank you for reading and we'll be back next month with some more great information.
Tim/Tracey Nicholas
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